


No Wrong Answer

by PinguinoSentado



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Epilogue, F/F, Femslash, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sacrifice Arcadia Bay, Spoilers, pricefield
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-31 01:56:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6450865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinguinoSentado/pseuds/PinguinoSentado
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Max chose Chloe over everyone in Arcadia Bay. Coming to terms with that will take time, and maybe a little support from her best friend.</p>
<p>Post-Episode 5 content showing Max haunted by her decision and Chloe heroically rescuing her from herself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Wrong Answer

The truck rattled and groaned down the road, talking to itself to hide the silence it carried. Max stared out the window, fixed on some distant point not even she could see. For all she knew, the car was driving itself. It would be a fitting ending. After all she had fought for, all she had done to keep Chloe Price safe, for her to vanish without a trace would be just what Max deserved.

She blinked and all the faces came rushing back. Her voice came with them, the same one she had heard in the nightmare. _You killed them. You let them die so you could be with Chloe._

It was gone as soon as her eyes opened but even then she thought the numbness and guilt would drive her mad. Just when the voice seemed to drown out her thoughts, she would feel a hand on her arm, a slight, gentle reminder that it was not for nothing. She would smile in spite of herself – which was good, Chloe deserved that much – and Chloe would smile back, giving them both one small moment of peace. Then the window would draw her back, and again she would slip inside herself. Remembering. Blinking just to see them all again. Just for a moment.

_Why did you let them die, Max? You could have saved them. All of them. There were children, families that could have been alive and happy right now. If you’d just figured out your power, you could have saved them all. You could rewind time, for fuck’s sake. You could have fixed everything._

_But you didn’t, and now they’re dead._

She didn’t remember stopping. The motel sign was red and the parking lot was just dirt. She remembered stumbling in the lobby and someone helping her. Chloe, of course. Who else? She wondered where she had gotten the money for the room. They had not exactly stopped to see the sights.

_Why would you? It’s easier to run away, pretend the Two Whales is still there. And now it’s just the two of you! Planning on kissing her again? Do you think she still loves you? Even if she did, you just killed her mother. But I suppose after you killed William, you just had to complete the set, didn’t you?_

The next thing she knew Chloe was talking to her. “Whoa! Come on now, I just got this room, don’t go fucking up the sheets just yet.”

What was she talking about? Fucking up the sheets? Max looked down at the bed. She just wanted to lie down. Why was Chloe stopping her?

“Come on, you,” Chloe moved her over to the chair and started tugging at her jacket. “You’re soaked. Don’t know how, but… Max? You still with me, dude?”

Max nodded. Her tongue didn’t want to move and her lips felt glued together. Maybe the thought was enough. _Of course I am. I’m never leaving you, Chloe. At least I can still keep that promise._

She blinked and she was in the bed, her head propped up by an uncomfortable pillow. Chloe was wrapping herself in one of those scratchy spare blankets motels liked to hide in the closet. “Well, no mints on the pillows, but hey, the door locks! I think. Plus they’ve got a hot tub.”

Max felt herself curl into a ball. She still felt soaked, the water from the storm seeping straight through her skin and into her bones. She could not get the clamminess to leave her. Her whole body was shaking.

“Max?” Chloe was on the bed now. “You okay?”

“I don’t know,” her voice cracked and strained and twisted in her throat.

Chloe’s eyes went soft. Max flinched away. She did not deserve that look. “Max…”

She would have started crying right there but all her tears had gone. They had spent the night together on the cliff, inside what was left of the lighthouse, pretending the salt on her skin was just sea spray. She couldn’t cry anymore even if she wanted to.

“I’m sorry, Chloe,” Max croaked. God, she sounded pathetic. “I’m so sorry.”

She felt Chloe’s hand moving up and down her arm, warming it through the blankets. It was the one part of her that felt alive right now. “I know. Just get some sleep, okay?”

Max shook her head furiously. She couldn’t see them. Not again. “I can’t.”

Chloe squeezed her arm and dragged herself a little closer. “You gotta sleep sometime, dude. Just a few hours, okay?”

_Do you think you can hide from this, Max? Do you think you can ever run so far away that you won’t see their faces? Do you think Chloe will ever forget who took her family away?_

She shifted under the blankets. Wait, blankets? Max looked down. The comforter, sheets, and every blanket in the room were all draped over her.

“You were shaking like mad,” Chloe said with her lilting half-laugh. “Thought you were having a fit or something.”

Max shifted out from under her mountain. Chloe was worried about her? Why?

_Congratulations, Max, you’re all she has left. No family, no friends, no home. Just you. You did that. You had power over fucking time and this was the best you could do._

“Don’t give me that look,” Chloe scooted closer. “You’re gonna make me cry, too, and then where will we be?” Her eyes were too soft to be looking at Max. At the girl who had killed her mother.

_And her father._

Max cringed as her body began collapsing on itself. Everything she had done, all the faces in her mind, were too much to bear.

“Hey,” Chloe pressed herself against what was left of Max Caulfield. “You’re alright. It’s all gonna be alright. You’ll see.”

Her eyes squeezed shut, desperately trying to cry those tears that had already gone. She tried to say she was sorry but it refused to be heard. It had already been said, and there was nothing more the words could do.

“It’s not your fault. You did everything you could. I never should have asked you to make that choice. No one should have to go through that. Least of all you.”

_Coward. Crying over Joyce while Chloe comforts you. You’re pathetic. Poor fucking Max. Did killing her mother make you feel sad?_

She felt Chloe’s shaking breaths as the woman held her closer. She was trembling. God, she must be in so much pain. “Mom… I know you loved her, too. I know you didn’t want it to end like this.”

“I tried,” Max’s whisper was pathetic, even to her ears. “I tried so hard to save them. I’m so sorry, Chloe.”

“I know,” Chloe’s breath rattled and coughed as she cleared her throat. “I know. I am too. Just… don’t blame yourself, okay?”

_Yeah, it wasn’t your fault. It’s everyone else’s. It’s not like you could have figured out your rewind power sooner and stopped all this from happening. How hard could it possibly be to turn on a tornado siren? Maybe write a strongly-worded note about the giant fucking tornado?_

_But then, when would you have time to splash around in the pool with Chloe? Or lay around all morning in bed with her? This was always about you. No one else, just you._

“Chloe,” Max tried to raise her head out of the blankets. Poor Chloe was right there, eyes broken and bright. “All this was my fault. If I had just saved you without using my power, maybe everything would be different. Everyone would still be alive.”

Her head dipped back into the blankets. She couldn’t stand looking at Chloe. Not now.

Warmth flooded the top of her head where Chloe’s lips touched, blowing away the clouds in her mind for one small moment. “You’re not God, Max. You were just… picked for this. I don’t know why but I’m hella glad it was you. No one else could have made the decisions you did. No one else would have tried to fix everything wrong with Arcadia Bay.”

_Oh, so that’s why you saved her. But of course she’d say that now. You don’t really believe any of that, do you? You failed, Max. You had a choice to make and, in the end, you were selfish._

Chloe’s fingers drew themselves along Max’s chin, gently bringing her up out of her ball to look at the girl she had sacrificed so many lives for. “Come on. Remember when we were in the diner back on… shit, Tuesday? When you were guessing what was in my pockets?”

Max nodded leadenly. Chloe smiled. “You remember what I told you to do, right?”

She did. Her voice, lost somewhere in the pit of her stomach, refused to answer, and all Max could manage was a smile.

Chloe lit up like a Christmas tree. “I told you to get laid. Just for fun. Find someone nice and get fucked, no strings attached.”

Max snorted her way through a laugh she wanted so badly to feel. Her heart did, growing a little lighter for it as her sides shook, but her gut still pulled her through the bed. At least it was something. “I took it under advisement.”

“Oh, did you now? You remember what else I said? I’ll bet you did make a move on me. Admit it.”

Chloe was beaming now. Heat flooded Max’s face as she imagined doing just that. “No, I – I didn’t – I mean, I – I wanted –“

Thank God Chloe cut her off to gloat. “Oh, I see how it is. I rock your world then you bust out the Rewind? Damn, Caulfield, I guess it’s all about you. Or could you even get me into bed? I can be a hard sell, when I want to be.”

When all she could manage was embarrassed laughter and a few insults, Chloe let her be. Her arms went back to holding Max together, like a shattered porcelain doll. She felt like one, fragile and cold and totally inhuman. Only Chloe’s warmth kept the pieces stuck together.

“You don’t hate me?” Max heard herself asking. She cringed. What a selfish thing to ask.

Again, Chloe was too good for her. “I could never hate you, Max. After everything you did, I know you did this for the right reasons. Even if… Even if mom didn’t make it. I know you tried. After everything you did for us, God, the shit with dad? I can’t believe you even tried to do that.”

Max wiggled deeper into Chloe’s arms. “You would have done the same for me.”

“Yeah, if I’d thought of it! If I wasn’t too busy getting laid!” again, Max blushed. Chloe brushed a tangle of hair from Max’s eyes. “You’re amazing, Max. You tried so hard to fix everything. I can’t tell you how much that means.”

“Even if it didn’t work?”

“Dude, if you’d tried any harder, you’d have died of nosebleeds! Look at yourself. You almost got lost in time or whereverthefuck that was just trying to keep me alive. And that was for what, like, five days? You did amazing. Even when you didn’t have your power.”

_She’s right. You saved Kate Marsh. Went right up to her and talked her down off that ledge. You did something good._

_Too bad she’s dead anyway. But hey, it impressed Chloe, so as long as she lets you into her pants a little easier, it was all worth it. Isn’t that right? After all, it’s the thought that counts._

“So no, Max, I don’t hate you. I love you for taking care of me. The way you watched out for me,” Chloe shook her head as she tried to find the words. Max wouldn’t have heard them anyway. She was too busy replaying ‘I love you’ over and over in her brain. She wished she could Rewind and hear it again. And again. And again.

Her face had turned red again. Chloe, mercifully, didn’t read her mind to find out why. “I mean it! How many times did you watch me get hurt this week? You probably had to watch me fall through open manhole covers or get hit by tree branches. Be honest, did I ever walk into traffic? Into a door?”

Chloe always knew how to make Max laugh, even if that laugh sounded more like a dying seal. Her throat still felt raw from the night before. “No,” she managed. “Do you think I’d Rewind if you walked into a door?”

The tough-as-nails, punk-rock goddess gave Max a gentle shove before pulling her back into her waiting arms. Chloe was always so careful with her. It was like looking at another person.

“You went through so much for me,” she felt Chloe’s arms tighten protectively around her. “I don’t know what you see in me.”

“I wish I could show you,” Max lied. She did wish Chloe could see how sweet and caring she was, but not like Max had. Not by seeing that other, paralyzed, helpless Chloe. The one Max killed.

_Just another dead body, right Max? Did that Chloe not matter to you as much because she wasn’t as good as this one? Her hair wasn’t right and it would have been way too much work to be a part of her life. So much easier just to kill William again._

Max ignored the voice. “You’re so strong and kind and caring and… And just look at you now,” she tried to laugh.

“Yeah, well, only for you, Max,” another flood of heat and life swept through her mind as Chloe kissed the top of her head again.

It was easy just to lay there. Max felt herself being dragged to sleep as she lay in Chloe’s arms, safe from the world. Safe from the ghostly faces.

“I couldn’t let you die,” she closed her eyes as Chloe started playing with her hair. It felt calming, even with her mind turning itself inside out. It was those memories of Chloe in pain that haunted her more than any others. She could still see herself pushing that dose of morphine. Her best friend had died right in front of her and it had been all her fault. “I saw you go through so much, Chloe. You were in so much pain. No matter what I did, I could never save you. I just wanted you to be happy. You deserve that.”

“Oh, Max…”

Chloe’s fingers made little braids in her hair, her touch as soft as her voice. It was a good thing Max was buried in her blankets with her eyes closed and her mind far away. The voice in her head had turned to an angry, muttering nothing, just the way it had when Chloe had appeared in her nightmare. As long as Chloe was there, it couldn’t scare her.

“I just… Fuck, I don’t know. What was I supposed to do, look at you and think about how many lives you’re worth? Should I have weighed that against how many people were in town today or how many might survive the storm? You’re not a number. You’re Chloe. And I love you.”

Chloe’s fingers had stopped moving. “Max…”

Max wasn’t sure if she wanted to cut herself off or start shouting the words just to get them out but she knew she couldn’t stop them. Not anymore. “I wanted to save everyone. I wanted to keep this from ever happening. I wanted to bring William and Rachel back and give you the life you deserved. And I would have died to do it, to make everything right, but I didn’t know how, and when you showed me that picture…”

The butterfly photo had torn itself, Max was sure of that. She had still been in shock. Chloe’s tearstained face had captivated her more than the sight thousands being swept up by nature’s wrath. She had been staring at her, unable to decide between the girl she loved and the lives of thousands when her hands just… moved.

“Max, it’s okay,” Chloe murmured.

“I just wanted you to be able to smile again. The way you did when we were kids,” now Max did cut herself off. She had already embarrassed herself enough. Better to just cover her head and wait for this all to blow over.

“I know it was hard, Max. I wish it hadn’t been you, but I can’t think of anyone else I would rather have given that choice to. It wasn’t fair and I wish I could take all that pain away but… what you did… You’ve always been able to do that, you know? See the most amazing things in life when everyone else just sees life. You’re a photographer. That’s what you do. If there’s anyone in the world who can look at Arcadia Bay and find beauty, it’s you.”

Max craned her neck out of the blankets to look up at Chloe. She wanted to say something without sounding like a total loser. How could she tell Chloe that Arcadia Bay, with all its wildlife and wonderful people, could not hold a candle to Chloe Price? Maybe she could just say that. It didn’t sound horrible in her head. Not too horrible, anyway.

Chloe didn’t need to be told. “And maybe… Maybe I like you looking at me that way. Seeing something beautiful. Someone’s who’s worth something. I don’t know why you look at me like that, but I swear, Max, I’ll always be there for you, trying to prove you right.”

“Chloe. You’re worth everything.”

Max forced herself not to curl back into her blankets to hide the flush creeping up her neck. She actually found herself smiling. Chloe seemed happy, anyway. Was that so hard to get out?

Chloe settled back against the pillows. “Well, I’ll take that as my good news for the day.”

The way she had said it left Max smiling wider. “And the bad news?”

Never one to mince words, Chloe just came out and said it. “We’re hella broke,” there was a little pause as something devious struck her. She always got that look, like a puppy finding the treat bag. “Actually, I didn’t look in your bag. You got some cash in there? Drugs? Gold bars?”

Max shook her head. “Just my camera. And my film and maybe some change.”

Chloe just got more excited. “Shit, Max, why didn’t you say anything? Loose change means food! Vending machine dinner is still dinner.”

As much as Max loved candy, she could feel her stomach twisting at the thought of eating only candy bars washed down with cheap soda. She wasn’t ten anymore. “We’re not that broke are we? You could afford the room.”

“Uh, well,” Chloe looked around sheepishly. “We kind of don’t have this room for the night.”

“Wait, what?”

And there was the puppy getting caught. It was hard to keep from grinning. The woman was adorable. “I maybe, kind of begged the nice man out front to let us crash for a bit. Sold him some sob story about a tornado. Asshole probably didn’t believe me.”

“Should’ve taken a picture,” Max grumbled. How long would it be before the news cameras rolled in, turning every shattered life into a tabloid?

Her stomach growled. How hungry would she have to be before she started taking those same pictures? She had her self respect, but Chloe? Chloe had to eat, too. Between keeping her fed and sticking to her moral high ground, she was not sure which would win.

“You were a little busy. And I’m glad you didn’t. That’d be a pretty morbid shot,” Chloe had started running her hand up and down Max’s arm again.

“So what are we doing here?” Max looked around the room suspiciously. She didn’t even need to exaggerate to make it funny.

“Sleeping, genius. Or you should be, anyway.”

Her eyes found Chloe’s. Neither of them had slept. Yeah, Max could have slept for a year, but what did that say for Chloe? “What about you?”

Of course she just shrugged it off. “I’ll be fine. What are sidekicks for, anyway?”

“I mean it,” Max tried her best no-nonsense tone but it was bootless. Kate’s bunny wouldn’t have listened to her.

But Chloe did. She rolled her eyes and tried to hide a smile. “Fine, I’ll get some shuteye, but not before you. You look dead on your feet. I’ll stay up, make sure nobody messes with Super Max.”

With Chloe’s arms around her, it would have been impossible not to think of sleep. The faces were gone when she closed her eyes. Her own voice no longer haunted her. Max wriggled her way deeper into her safe place. “Thank you. For everything.”

That earned her another kiss, this one distractingly close to her ear. “That’s me, your faithful companion. I deserve a raise.”

“Even if I don’t have my powers anymore?”

Chloe’s voice was so soft that Max could hardly feel the warm breath on her skin. “I told you. I’m never leaving you, Max. Even if you don’t have your powers. Just means I get to save you from now on. Or maybe I can rewind time now!”

“Oh, God,” Max blurted.

“Don’t be a baby, I’ll be careful.”

“Does that mean I have to drive you everywhere?”

“I’m not letting you drive my truck,” Chloe had no trouble with that no-nonsense thing. “But being me was hard work, always saving the girl with the magic powers. No one ever appreciates the help.”

Max made a note of that. Chloe hadn’t meant it, but she did deserve a little appreciation. More than Max was giving her, anyway. “I’ll be your dashing sidekick, the obnoxious shutterbug always trying to capture your true identity as you save the world.”

“Good thing you’re cute,” Chloe purred. She stuck one hand up in the air, the same way Max had done so many times and in so many timelines. “Let’s try, shall we?”

She screwed up her face like she was trying to physically turn back a clock from across the room. Max giggled in spite of everything. She wondered how many times Chloe had looked at her like that and wondered _great, what'd she fuck up now? Bet another box fell on her head._

“Ah,” Chloe sighed and flopped back against the bed. “That was fun.”

“So, how was your first time? Do anything exciting?”

“Mm, wouldn’t you like to know?” she teased.

Max rolled her eyes. “Did you kill one of us?”

“Nope.”

“Good start, grasshopper. You’re learning quickly.”

Chloe smiled coyly. “I learned from the best. But I am still me. What do you think I did?”

The look said it all. Max felt her heart skip a beat. She wanted to say something funny but all she could manage was. “Uh… Um…”

Chloe didn’t push her. She didn’t have to. Max rolled back against the bed as Chloe oh-so-gently came with her. She felt herself trying to breathe but she couldn’t. Her lungs worked in shallow gasps. She felt every nerve in her body light up and crackle with life. She felt so helpless.

But so safe.

She closed her eyes and felt Chloe’s lips brush against hers. She was so gentle, so careful with her. Max lay back and let herself be kissed. She let herself enjoy this moment. This was how it was going to be forever. Never again would she let Chloe Price out of her sight. No more five years without a text. Five minutes would be a stretch now.

When Chloe finally pulled away, she took Max with her. She wasn’t done. She wanted more.

Chloe’s hand was there, pressing her back against the bed. “Get some sleep, Max.”

Max opened her eyes. The fire in her chest wanted more. It wanted everything her lips had been too scared to ask for.

But Chloe’s eyes said it all. There was a time for that, and it wasn’t now. Max knew it too, even if she didn’t want to admit it.

So she nodded, curling up in her mountain of blankets and looking fondly up at Chloe. This was how it was going to be, she realized, always falling asleep next to Chloe Price. She wished there had been another way. Maybe if she had just done something, all those lifetimes ago in that bathroom. Nathan was a coward. She probably could have just chucked the bucket at him instead of taking a butterfly picture. Chloe would have been safe. No time travel, no tornado, nothing. Just her best friend, saved by cleaning supplies.

Maybe it was okay that it wasn’t perfect. Max let Chloe hold her again and felt herself begin to drift away. She was so freakin tired. Next time, she promised herself. Next time Chloe needed her, she wouldn’t be afraid.

After all, this was hardly the end. Her quiet laughter into Chloe’s chest seemed to get the girl’s attention. “What’s so funny?”

“This is not how I imagined our road trip to Portland.”

Chloe gave her a reassuring squeeze. “No, but this is more fun. And who says we’re going to Portland? We’ve got the whole world in front of us, Max.”

“I like the sound of that,” Max closed her eyes and let everything fade away. The whole world. She really liked the sound of that.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry, I know there's probably a million of these epilogues floating around by now, but after playing through and seeing that final choice pop up, I felt like I had to throw my own into the mix. Anyway, hopefully it wasn't too terrible. If you have any comments, questions, or pleas that I never write again, you can find me on Tumblr under the same username.


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